Binge Eating Variant: Eating in Secret

Most people know or know of people who have the classic symptoms of binge eating. You may have seen them on TV or at the movies. Most are overweight or grossly obese as opposed to bulemics who are usually thin because of the purging after eating. Here are some of the criteria for the pure form of Binge Eating:

Eating Large amount of food in short time

Lack of control of eating

Rapid eating leading to discomfort

Often eating when not hungry

Eating along because of embarrassment

Often feeling of disgust

Eating occurs once a week for 3 or more months

No purging after eating

The “eating in secret” type of binge eating disorder is less serious and less likely to lead to serious weight gain. It usually a teenage girl or adult man and women who are fighting their weight and are embarrassed to eat bad foods in front of family members. Often a daughter in front of a mother or a wife in front of a husband. Older children and teens often exhibit this behavior.

Eating in secret almost always involves eating high calorie, high carb foods which turn to fat almost immediately.
The goal of any successful weight loss plan is to burn belly fat. This become easy when the dieter realizes that secretive eating can ruin his/her diet plans. Just the nature of that type of eating gives the foods too much power over the dieter. Look at the grin on the lady in the picture below.

It’s the foods that produce guilt that cause almost all of the problems. Seeking approval from family, friends and even co-workers, the majority of overweight people will go to extremes not to let the world know what and how much they are eating even hiding foods and wrappers. Sometimes they are even hiding it from themselves. Hiding foods only makes them more appealing-the result is the need to eat even more.

Adults and Driving Teens: Eating in the car is a good way to hide food from family and friends.

People attempt to reduce consumptive guilt by hiding foods and wrappers. Whether eating in “secret” at the drive thru, eating in the car while waiting in the car pool lance, ordering on the phone, the goal is get that approval: “Gee mom, you doing well on your new diet,” Or “Honey, you look better than when I married you.” It does not make whether they are on a diet at the time…. Its about reducing consumption guilt.

Here are some of secrets of hundreds of overweight people disguise what they are eating from family and friends and end up undermining their diet Do any of these apply to you?

• Eating food in tiny pieces or refilling small bowls, thinking its less.
• Sneaking food from your kid’s or spouse’s plates
• Hiding food, only to eat it in secret latter
• “Cleaning” the dinner plates after everyone leaves the table,
• Purposely making too much food so there are lot of leftovers
• Concealing with you are eating by inviting a lot of people for dinner
• Pleading for someone to order high calorie dessert, so you can share.
• Stopping for gas and going inside the station store
• Eating at the movies in the dark
• Eating pizza and hiding the crusts from your family
• Waiting until your spouse goes to sleep to start on that bag of chips
• Eating in the car & hiding the wrappers in any “secret” place.

Any of these “secrets” only makes the foods more more desirable. It’s about making foods into the “forbidden fruits.”

Secretive Eating Can Be Controlled

1. STOP eating in the car-let’s face it’s a “safe” place to eat bad food.
2. STOP eating off other people’s plates, or leaving leftovers around
3. STOP hiding foods and wrappers.

About Dr. Richard Lipman M.D.

Whether you have 10, 50, or 150 pounds to lose, Dr. Lipman, board certified internist & endocrinologist can help you achieve your goals. Over the past 30 years he has treated more than 30,000 people with weight gain and slow metabolism – even those with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease or slow thyroid.Full Bio »